Abstract

KeyWord

Household, per capita, distance, water consumption and domestic

Abstract

Access to safe portable water by households is very crucial for both health and developmental issues at the national, regional and local levels. The Biu plateau region is principally underlain by crystalline and sedimentary rocks, and the most reliable sources of domestic water are from underground water since most surface water sources are seasonal. The area usually experiences water scarcity due to the seasonal nature of rainfall being responsible for underground recharge, and the associated problem of climate change worsened by insecurity that has ravaged the region for the past 8 years. Household heads were randomly selected and interviewed from 48 settlements across the 5 Local Government Areas that constitute the Biu plateau region located in the southern part of Borno State. The study reveals that households have to travel long distance sometimes over 10km in order to obtain their daily water supply. The mean per capita household water consumption in the Biu plateau region is generally below 25 litres per person per day which falls far below World Health Organization minimum standard. In some communities, as high as 10 man-hours are used daily by women and children in the process of water procurement for domestic purposes leading to conflicts among water users over water points are common at both household and community levels. Using the correlations test at 5% significant level, there was no significant relationship between the income of household heads and the other factors of domestic water supply and consumption in the Biu plateau region. As a way forward to the daily challenges households in the region face, this paper recommends for greater individual participation in the provision of domestic water sources so that per capita consumption rate can be increased significantly in the long run.

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